Above class for Jewish Studies students only. Obtain online
authorization from Jewish Studies Advisor.
Above class meets with another section of HIST-B 303
This course looks at one of the most devastating trajectories in the
history of the modern world – the development of Judeophobic ideas
and movements from the Enlightenment to the aftermath of the
Holocaust. Why did the Jews become the object of such antagonism?
How far did the Christian roots of anti-Jewish sentiment continue to
play a role in the modern era, or did the birth of modern
antisemitism mark something principally new and different? How much
did antisemitism have to do with the position, experience and
behavior of actual Jews? What was the relationship of antisemitism
to politics – when did it become successful, and what did people
hope from it? And what was the relationship between antisemitic
ideas, politics and violence? In the 19th Century antisemitic
protests involved very few killings, yet this changed radically in
the 20th century – well before the Holocaust. How far did the
Holocaust draw on traditional antisemitism at home and abroad, and
how far did it represent something new?
Moving between lecture format and student participation, this course
will lay particular emphasis on the examination of primary sources,
to see both what antisemites were saying, and how contemporaries
responded to them. It will also introduce students to the striking
range of historical interpretations of the phenomenon of
antisemitism. There is no good text book, and readings will be
chosen from a series of articles, but students must buy the source
book:
Paul Mendes-Flohr and Jehuda Reinharz, "The Jew in the Modern World:
A Documentary History" (Paperback) Oxford University Press 1995